Donald Trump Used Divorce From Wife Ivana as a ‘Loud and Deliberate’ PR Strategy, Says Michael Wolff

In Michael Wolff’s Substack post promoting the latest episode of The Daily Beast’s “Inside Trump’s Head” podcast, the biographer and co-host Joanna Coles dive into President Donald Trump’s "strange elationships with the women closest to him over the course of his 80 years,” including his first wife, the late Ivana Trump.

Michael alleges that the octogenarian’s current distance from his third wife, Melania Trump, began in his first marriage.

“This isolation began with the spectacular fracturing of the president’s marriage to Ivana Trump,” Michael said.

Donald and Czech-born model and athlete Ivana Zelníčková met in New York City in 1976. They were married in 1977 at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan. They went on to have three children — Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric — and divorced in 1992 after an explosive cheating scandal involving Donald’s future second wife, Marla Maples.

Donald and Ivana’s 13-year marriage publicly disintegrated when Ivana and Marla were involved in an unplanned confrontation at a ski resort in Aspen, Colo.

This brought Donald's extramarital affair to the forefront, resulting in front-page coverage in New York tabloids for 11 consecutive days.

Donald initially attempted to enforce a prenuptial agreement capping her settlement at $25 million. Ivana's attorneys fought the contract, famously calling it "unconscionable and fraudulent" because of her integral role in helping build the Trump business empire (including managing the Plaza Hotel).

Michael alleges that Donald used the divorce to spin a spectacular public relations campaign.

“He used the divorce as a loud, deliberate promotional strategy designed to conquer the tabloid press. He wanted it to play out this way on the front of the New York papers because he was running to be the most famous playboy in the city. Family was simply reclassified as a marketing division — and another photo opportunity,” he wrote.

During a 1990 divorce deposition, Ivana accused Donald of rape. She alleged a violent incident in 1989 where she felt "violated.”

Later, during Donald's presidential campaigns, Ivana clarified the statement, releasing a public comment that her words should not be interpreted in a "literal or criminal sense," but rather that she had felt a deep emotional lack of tenderness during an uncomfortable encounter.

Donald vehemently denied the allegations.

The divorce was officially granted in December 1990 on the grounds of "cruel and inhuman treatment.”

The settlement, estimated at between $14 million and $20 million, required Ivana to sign a strict confidentiality agreement, prohibiting her from discussing their marriage publicly.

Ivana died at the age of 73 on July 14, 2022. The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that her death was caused by blunt impact injuries to her torso, which she suffered from an accidental fall in her Manhattan home.